Who doesn't like a good game of trivia? It's a fine test of knowledge and a good distraction from life's everyday aches and pains. So, let's play Travel Trivial Pursuit.
Do you know which city in the world is the most expensive for business travel? Which U.S. city is the most expensive for eating? And just what is the average daily cost of a domestic business trip (excluding airfare)? Are you beginning to feel like we are playing "Jeopardy" (please give your answer in the form of a question) instead of Trivial Pursuit? Patience, dear reader. The answers to all of the above questions, courtesy of the Corporate Travel Index 2009 published by Business Travel News, follow.
If you are a foodie, you will be leaving your wallet alongside your heart in San Francisco. It's the priciest place in the country to chow down, with a meal per diem of $137.48.* New York ranks second in the food category at $130.98. On the international scale, Amsterdam is #1 at $237 for meals, followed closely by Paris. If you put San Francisco on the list of international cities, it would only rank #30 in terms of daily food expense.
On the other hand, guess what city in the United States is most expensive for renting a car? You are going to love this one, dear reader. It's Detroit. Say what? With all the surplus cars hanging around Motor City? But according to the survey, it's true. New York City is #2 on the car rental list.
But the Big Apple does top a couple of the U.S.A. travel rankings. New York is the most expensive city to spend the night. The average hotel room is $355.84. In this category, New York beats out Washington, DC by $79.
Overall, New York City has the highest per diem rate in the country.** It's $615.19. That's more than $100 higher than City #2, aka DC. By comparison, the national average per diem rate is $325.67.
As you might guess, New York and Washington are America's two most expensive cities for business travelers. Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago round out the top five. The cheapest--among the Top 100--are Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Akron, Ohio. Each averages a per diem less than $250.
A few other tidbits from the international portion of the survey (which excludes U.S cities). Nineteen of the Top 20 most expensive international cities on the list are in Europe (if you include Russia as part of Europe). Caracas, Venezuela, at #20, is the only destination on this side of the Atlantic to fall in the Top 50. Amsterdam is the most expensive city in terms of total per diem at $574.*** Paris, Moscow, and Oslo also come in with averages above $500 a day.
On the other hand, the six cheapest destinations on the Corporate
Travel Index are all in Central and South America. Per diem rates in
this sextet all fall below $200 a day. La Paz, Bolivia, the highest
capital city in the world in terms of altitude, is the lowest in terms
of per diem costs ($123). So if you are looking for bargain business
travel destinations, go south, young women.
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*Per diem for meals include the cost of a full breakfast; a lunch consisting of salad or soup, a sandwich, a beverage and a dessert; and a complete dinner including a glass of wine. A 15% tip is included in the calculation, but taxes are not.
**Hotel, car rental, and dining costs. Travel to the destination is not included.
***International per diem rates include hotel and three meals only.
